


Dead Boy Howls

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Series: Werewolf!Jason AU [2]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 18:19:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4971430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one would guess that the little boy dressed as Robin and the gigantic dog sitting on the curb were two dead boys who didn't stay that way.</p><p>But Dick and Bruce didn't learn from the first dead son, and Jason would be damned if Damian had to reap the same punishments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dead Boy Howls

**Author's Note:**

> a 2015 halloween prompt
> 
> Haha I kind of just used your prompt as a base, oops. Obviously, as mentioned, this is two nights after _The Better To See You With_. Jason wasn’t lying, they get a shit ton of candy, and spend the rest of the evening ignoring Bruce and Dick and splitting the candy. Damian’s a stickler, though, and won’t give Jason any of his share until he turns back into human form. Jason whines, but acquiesces, and then steals Titus’s love for the night. Then they fall asleep watching horror movies in Damian’s room. Dick and Bruce are keeping Damian away to protect him, and are trying to pry to make sure he’s okay mentally, but of course, don’t use their words, so aren’t telling Damian that. Just ordering him around. This AU is all about the batboys lack of communication, okay. That’s it. They all suck.

The door slammed, and by the heavy footfalls, Dick knew it was Jason. But Jason didn’t stop as he passed by the kitchen, heading towards the stairs.

The question was on Dick’s tongue, but Jason answered it before it was asked.

“I’m taking the kid out.”

Dick blinked twice, then hopped from the barstool to follow. Jason was already halfway up the stairs by the time he swung around the kitchen entryway. “I’m coming with you.”

“No you’re not.” Jason droned.

Dick stepped on the bottom stair. “Yes I _am_.”

“No.” Jason froze, looked over his shoulder. And even as a human, even without the fur and the big teeth, he looked ferocious. Eyes wide and bloodthirsty. Face cold and serious. “You’re _not_.”

Jason turned back towards the landing. Dick remained on the bottom step.

He strolled slowly down the hall, hummed thoughtfully. Would Damian actually come with him? Would Dick actually let them out of the house? Would Jason have to ‘wolf out’ to leave?

He was almost hoping for the third option. Wolfing out was fun.

Damian’s bedroom door was open, and he heard music wafting out. Slow and soothing. Full of piano and…was that a banjo? Was Damian listening to _indie folk_?

He smiled as he peeked into the room, found Damian at his easel, a cat on his lap and a dog at his feet. Titus glanced up at him, and his tail instantly started wagging excitedly.

“Howdy.” Jason drawled, and Damian paused in his sketching, looked over. His eyes widened, just slightly, but he didn’t say anything– just like he hadn’t said anything since finding out his wolf friend Hesperus was actually Jason the morning prior.

Damian seemed awkward, dropping his gaze, busying his hands by petting his cat. “…Hello.”

And Jason got it, he did. Damian was _embarrassed_. He’d let out a big secret when he thought he was just talking to an animal. A secret he didn’t want anyone in his family to know, and here, the family screw-up _did_.

He was mad he had been deceived. Mad that Jason lied to him at first.

But he was angrier at himself for what he’d let slip out. Angrier at himself for being tricked, for being so trusting. And he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to face his brother now. How he was supposed to backtrack and cover his secret back up.

Yeah, Jason had been there.

And he was gonna be _damned_ if he let this kid be there too.

“You busy?” He asked.

Damian pursed his lips, cocked his head to the side. “Not…really…”

“Great.” Jason pushed off the doorframe. “Then we’re going out.”

“Out?” Damian mimicked, watching as Jason turned back to the hallway. “Out _where?_ ”

And just like he’d done to Dick, he glanced over his shoulder, but this time with a grin. “Trick or treating, of course.”

~~

The neighborhood was quiet. Cute, even – but they both knew that meant nothing in Gotham.

That wasn’t the reason Damian was in his Robin garb, though, or that Jason was in his wolf form. That was just short notice – neither of them had actual costumes.

(Not that Jason wasn’t going to be a wolf whenever he could be _anyway_. For one, it was fun. _Damn_ fun. For two, the wolf – Hesperus – began getting antsy the second he and Damian walked out of the manor, itching to protect the little brat as soon and as viciously as possible.)

Damian had a pillowcase clutched tightly in his hand, already half full of chocolate and sweets. He wasn’t looking at Jason, staring at the yard decorations and other children, as he had been the thirty or so minutes they’d been out here.

And no one seemed incredibly perturbed by Jason or his size. Most just thought it was an incredibly elaborate costume. Some – the elderly, mostly – thought he was just an immensely large _dog_ – a fact Damian seemed to vehemently agree with.

It was comfortable, though, for the most part. The silence. Jason and Damian – and what a weird team-up that was. Especially when it was normally _Dick_ and Damian, or _just_ Jason.

Jason peeked down, watched Damian’s…innocently curious face as he looked around. And that’s when Jason remembered – Damian had probably never done this before. Knew what it was, sure. Kid was smarter than everyone, he probably knew every national and religious holiday, in every country. But there was a difference between _knowing_ and _experiencing_.

And there was nothing like experiencing Halloween.

But still. That wasn’t what they were out here for.

The kid had come easily enough. No whining or complaints or even barbs. Just put his pencils down and pattered silently after Jason. Any question Jason asked him – “You have a costume? A bag? Want your little nerd friend Colton or whoever to come with us?” – he just nodded or shrugged. Dick had still been standing at the bottom of the stairs, but Damian, surprisingly, ignored him, tried to hide behind Jason’s frame as they passed.

As equally surprising was that Dick seemed to expect it, and accepted the cold shoulder.

Huh.

They’d made it to the end of the lane, were turning the corner onto the next street when Jason huffed, leaned his head down and bounced his nose off Damian’s temple.

“Can we talk?”

Damian pursed his lips, wiped his glove against the spot Jason just hit. “About?”

“About…” Jason tapered off as a dad and his twin daughters ran by. “…About what you said, the other night.”

“I said a lot of things the other night.” Damian hummed. “To which night are you referring?”

“Don’t play dumb, you know what I’m talking about.” Jason growled. Literally, _growled_ , felt his hackles rise. “The night I _found you alone in the woods_.”

Damian didn’t answer, but Jason’s ear twitched, as he heard the squeaking leather of Damian squeezing his fist tighter.

“You said you didn’t have a family.” Jason whispered, and he couldn’t help it, it was more Hesperus than him, but he rubbed his nose off Damian’s forehead once more. “Why did you say that?”

Damian hesitated, stopped walking completely, just for a second, before sighing, moving around Jason and sitting on the curb. Jason sat next to him – front paws on the road, butt on the sidewalk. Awkward but he managed. Almost.

And it was another moment, another few seconds as a group of teenagers with a suspiciously large backpack passed by, before Damian spoke – soft and shaky and…

And _defeated_.

“Why do you _care?_ ”

The question took Jason off-guard, and now it was his turn to hesitate. Cock his head to the side.

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly that – why do _you_ care?” Damian snapped, glared up at him. “You never have before. What, did Father put you up to this?”

Jason snorted, shook his muzzle. “As if he could make me do _anything_.”

“And, speaking of, what the hell was that stunt the other day?” Damian pushed, pointing up at Jason’s chest. “Why did you follow me through the woods? Why did you bring me home? Why wouldn’t you let Father or Grayson into my room yesterday morning?”

And Jason knew this could go on for ages – it had before, anyway. He and Damian had never been close, never expected to be so either. There was a mutual respect there, of course, a reciprocated promise of protection. The camaraderie of being two members of the Dead Robins Club. But…not much else.

But Jason saw something, in Damian’s eyes that night. Something he’d seen in himself once, something he’d hoped he’d never see in another person as long as he lived.

Complete and utter hopelessness.

And that just wouldn’t do. Not for another young soul. Not for his little brother.

 _No more Jason Todds._ That’s what he’d said, and he’d meant it.

“Because they hurt you.” He whispered finally, digging his claws into the concrete below his paws, just slightly. “And that’s _not_ okay.”

Damian seemed taken aback, but tried to mask his surprise instantly. “I didn’t say that.” A pause, as Damian looked away, down at his hands, and the pillowcase between his knees. “…I didn’t tell you _how_.”

“You didn’t have to. The point is that they _did_. They hurt you bad enough that you were going to _run away_ , Damian. That’s bad enough for me to want to bite their hands off.” Jason explained, glancing up into the sky. It was a nice night, and he could see a few stars up there. “Well, in _this_ form anyway. I’d have just _shot_ them otherwise.”

He heard Damian huff a quiet laugh, and gave a doggy grin.

“…Are you going to tell me, though?” Jason tried, glanced down out of the corner of his eye. “Tell somebody?”

Damian remained staring at the ground, but Jason noticed the subtle movement of his fingers, his fists unclenching, the coil of his palms that made it clear he was staring at them. “…They don’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Being _dead_.” The two words were almost shouted, and Jason turned his head when he saw a grandmother and three little boys jolt to a halt behind them. He lowered his ears, growled until the old woman shuffled them away, then turned back to Damian, who’s fingers were curled, twisted but not back in fists. “They think it’s a _joke_.”

Jason didn’t say anything.

“Neither of them died, they never _did_ , but they both think that if they keep saying ‘I understand’ that they magically _will_. But they _won’t_. They keep wanting me to talk about it. Share my _feelings_ , explain what I went through. They push and they push and they _push_ , but they don’t actually _listen_.”

Damian’s voice was cracking. Just barely, but thanks to the wolfy-senses, Jason heard it loud and clear.

“Because you don’t want to talk about it.”

“And I tell them that!” Damian shrieked, balling up those little fists and looking up at Jason, eyes desperate even behind the mask. “I tell them that, and then they get mad. Then they don’t talk to me at _all_. Then they ignore me, and they…they leave me behind!”

“What do you mean?”

Damian huffed again, let his gaze drift off to the ground. “I’ve had reduced patrols this past week. Father and Grayson are working they same case, but they both insist on working their angles solo. When I tell them I can do my own patrols and own cases, they freak out. Lock me out of the cave and in the manor.”

Well, that would explain why no one knew the kid was missing the night before last.

“And I…I don’t know what I did.” Damian admitted softly, deflating. “I don’t know what’s changed. But it’s like…” A sigh, and that sense of defeat again. “It’s like they don’t trust me anymore. Like I don’t _matter_. Don’t matter beyond being _the dead kid_ , anyway.”

And Jason got that. _Shit_ , Jason got that. _Hard_.

He felt his anger spark in his soul, felt Hesperus growl and his hackles rise. Because he couldn’t _believe_ this.

How _dare_ him. How dare _Bruce_ , how dare _Dick_.

Because he was one thing. He was the family screw-up. He was the _mistake_. He was the _murderer_.

But this was a _kid_. This was _their_ kid. Bruce’s son, Dick’s son. Their protégé, their pride and joy – and _this_ is what they do to him?

“I’ll kill them.” He decided – though it was more Hesperus’s opinion than his own. Still, he could agree with the sentiment, somewhat.

“Well, I don’t think they deserve _that_ , but…” Damian let out a dark chuckle. “You…” A shy peek upwards. “You get it, right?”

“I died too, kid. Don’t forget that.” He leaned his head down, sniffed Damian’s hair, nuzzled his nose across Damian’s temple. Damian didn’t seem put off this time, and if that wasn’t a true testament to how… _sad_ the kid was, then nothing else would be. “I know there’s things you don’t want to talk about. Don’t want to… _relive_. So…yeah. Yeah, I get it.”

Silence then, filled with the laughter of costumed children nearby. And Jason didn’t move, barely breathed, when he felt Damian lean tentatively against his flank, like he did with Titus back home. Tried to hide the sudden wagging of his tail and – _stop it, Hesperus, you nerd._

“I was just going to Drake’s tower.” Damian said after a moment. “The other night, when I found you. Your friend Starfire said I would always have a room there, with the Titans, if I so chose. And I was going to have Superboy call Drake when I got there.”

“Seems like a solid plan.” Jason mumbled. “I mean, I don’t think it would have _worked_. Tim would have come and got you himself, dragged you home, if he didn’t at least tell Batdad first. But – yeah, _seems_ solid.”

Damian hummed, but suddenly – “Maybe I should just stay with you, then.”

Jason froze.

“I don’t want to go home, Todd.” Damian whispered, and Jason felt him turn his head, press his cheek against Jason’s fur. “I don’t…I don’t want to be where I’m not _wanted_.”

Hesperus growled. Jason did too.

Damian didn’t want to go home, didn’t want to go where he wasn’t wanted.

But he loved them too much to go too _far_.

Jason felt his muscles tighten. The instinct to tear Bruce and Dick limb from limb almost overwhelming.

_How could they fuck up this badly?_

But, no. Wait. Stop.

Damian. Think of Damian.

Because he knew Damian’s thoughts were untrue. Bruce loved him, Dick _adored_ him. And whatever they were doing, there had to be a reason. Probably a good reason. A reason Damian, for some reason, just couldn’t see. Blinded by his own deep-seeded insecurities.

Still, it wasn’t a far cry to believe that the Batmen suddenly forgot how to _parent_.

“Sorry, kiddo. But no can do.” Jason declined. He felt Damian’s spirit drop further. “For one, the safehouse isn’t exactly _child-proofed_. And for two – Roy’s a goddamn slob.”

And he felt Damian steeling himself, already trying to put back up the walls he’d let himself drop. Began pushing away from Jason’s side.

“But, that doesn’t mean _I_ can’t stay with _you_.”

Damian jolted to a halt, and he spun his head up so quickly Jason thought he might have given himself whiplash.

“I mean. Bruce wants me around the manor anyway, at least until-” He shrugged his shoulder, raised a giant paw. “-until _this_ is taken care of. So…”

And Damian was still staring up at him. Eyes wide, surprised and disbelieving.

“You don’t deserve it, Damian. What they’re doing to you.” Jason muttered, standing. “You’ve been hurt enough. You’ve given enough to them, for this cause. And I’m not going to let them take any more. Not from you.”

Jason stretched, reaching his front paws out into the street. Damian continued to stare at him.

“Besides, us dead kids have to stick together, you know?” Jason grinned, scratching his paw at Damian’s arm. “Now come on, there’s more candy to be had. And if we get through this neighborhood fast enough, I think I know of another one we could hit before we head back. They give out _full-sized_ candy bars.”

Damian slowly stood, still in a seeming shock as he stepped up on the sidewalk. Jason just smiled at him, shook his head, his whole body then glanced to the sidewalk. A crowd was coming – two strollers, four kids Damian’s age and six adults – and Jason figured it was a better idea to let them pass, than try to cut them off.

He could still feel Damian watching him as they waited, and it was a little flustering. Jason knew his cheeks would be heating up, if he were in human-form right now. Just another perk of being a giant dog, he guessed.

But Damian’s voice was quiet. “…Todd?”

Jason looked down at him, at his wide blue eyes, and heartbreakingly open face. And – yeah. He could see it, why Dick was always so hopeful for this kid. Why he loved this little snot so _damned_ much.

(If only he and Bruce were better at fucking _showing_ it.)

“What?”

Damian couldn’t hold the gaze, and his eyes dropped again. Down to his hands, his feet, Jason’s paws.

And suddenly, he stepped forward, clung to Jason’s fur, hid his face against his chest. Pushed, like he was trying to melt into it, to disappear from the whole world.

And – Jason knew from experience – he probably was.

His voice was muffled, a little watery, a lot relieved, but Jason heard it loud and clear. “…Thank you.”

Jason bowed his head, twisted his neck backwards to engulf the child in security.

“No need to thank me, kid. It’s what…” Jason started. He then shifted, pulled away from Damian, didn’t mention anything when Damian wiped at his eye, and smiled. “It’s what brothers are for.”

Damian seemed stunned by the title, but returned the smile anyway.

“Now, let’s go. The smell of chocolate is driving me _crazy_. And since the plus side of being a _were_ wolf is that the chocolate won’t kill me, I’m going to need a shit-ton of it.” Jason explained. Slowly, he dipped to the ground. “Need a lift? I bet I can run faster than you. And that’ll _double_ our candy intake.”

And Damian’s smiled turned giddy, almost childish, as he climbed onto Jason’s back, grabbed at his fur and bracketed his legs around his ribs.

Jason glanced up at him. “Hang on tight, Damian.”

Damian did, and Jason took off. Dodging between families and children, maybe showing off, just a little. Damian seemed to notice that, and _laughed_. Loud and joyous and infectious.

They darted into the next street, and Hesperus howled in triumph.

And as they reached the first house, as Damian leaned down, proclaimed the holiday phrase, and got three treats dropped into his bag as his reward, Jason did too.

**Author's Note:**

> [Other Werewolf!Jason things](http://fishfingersandjellybabies.tumblr.com/tagged/werewolf%21jason-au)


End file.
